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Central bank fears spook markets

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Original article by Jacob Greber, Sally Rose, Jessica Sier
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 12-Sep-16

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index has shed 4.4 per cent since the start of August 2016, and a 2.5 per cent downturn in the S&P 500 is expected to push the local market lower on 12 September. The US market was sold down after a Federal Reserve official suggested that the strength of the US economy could warrant an interest rate cut in the near-term. This prompted renewed support for the US dollar and a sharp rise in bond yields. Meanwhile, Nick Bishop of Aberdeen Asset Management expects an upturn in global financial market volatility in the December quarter.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, UBS GLOBAL ASSET MANAGEMENT (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Shareholders to reap $24b in dividends

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 9-Sep-16

CommSec’s Craig James estimates that shareholders of Australian-listed companies will receive $A16.3bn worth of dividend payments in the three weeks from mid-September 2016. The total payout in the wake of the August reporting season is expected to top $A24bn. Fortescue Metals Group is among the companies that have significantly increased their payout, although rivals BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto have slashed their dividends.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH SECURITIES LIMITED, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX BTT

Heady month ahead putting investors on watch for a fall

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Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 6-Sep-16

Perpetual’s Matthew Sherwood says the Australian sharemarket could retreat in September 2016, noting that valuations and the outlook for earnings are high at present. The monetary policy meetings of central banks in the US, Japan and Europe will also be a focus for investors. Sharemarkets also often fall in September, as US traders return from the summer break. Michael Gable of Fairmont Equities says the S&P/ASX 200 could test the 5,200-point level in the near-term.

CORPORATES
PERPETUAL LIMITED – ASX PPTFAIRMONT EQUITIES PTY LTDSTANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEXUNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARDEUROPEAN CENTRAL BANKBANK OF JAPANBHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHPNATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NABAUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZCOMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBAWESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC

Commodity troubles weigh on ASX

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Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 2-Sep-16

The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 17 points, or 0.3 per, to 5,415.6 on 1 September 2016. Investor sentiment was negatively affected by the weakness in share prices in the US and a fall in oil prices due to a larger-than-expected increase in US inventories. Santos and Origin Energy both lost 3.2 per cent in value. Katana Asset Management portfolio manager Romano Sala Tenna expects crude oil prices to continue to range between $US40 ($A53) and $US50 a barrel.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM, NORTHERN STAR RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX NST, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, KATANA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED

Capex takes back seat as optimism stalls

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 2-Sep-16

Businesses are still reluctant to increase their capital investments. Figures released on 1 September 2016 suggest that $A105.2 billion will be spent on capital investments in 2016-17 which is unchanged in non-mining terms. Investors who rely on dividends are likely to benefit from this trend as companies will return some of their capital to them as dividends.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, NICK SCALI LIMITED – ASX NCK, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP

ASX ends earnings season on sour note

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Original article by Jens Meyer, Patrick Commins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 1-Sep-16

The S&P/ASX 200 index closed 0.8 per cent lower at 5,433.0 on 31 August 2016. Mining and energy stocks were out of favour. Analysts are rather disappointed with the earnings season which ended on 31 August. Goldman Sachs found only five companies whose performance was judged impressive: Fortescue, Seven Group Holdings, GWA Group, JB Hi-Fi and Mayne Pharma.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, SEVEN GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SVW, GWA GROUP LIMITED – ASX GWA, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, MAYNE PHARMA GROUP LIMITED – ASX MYX, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN

‘Sell everything’ call a distant memory

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Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 19-Aug-16

Global sharemarkets have defied forecasts in January 2016 of a major slump, with most key indices having recovered from a sell-off in February. Andrew Mitchell of Ophir Asset Management says equities should continue to rise, unless there is a "black swan" event. Many fund managers increased their portfolios’ exposure to cash holdings following the Australian market’s downturn in April 2015, but its rebound from 2016 lows has prompted some to reinvest in equities.

CORPORATES
OPHIR ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND GROUP PLC, FTSE 100 INDEX, BENNELONG AUSTRALIAN EQUITY PARTNERS PTY LTD, KATANA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED, BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION, MERRILL LYNCH AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE INDEX, ORGANISATION OF PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES

Bankers, lawyers to get busy as merger deals poised to pick up

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 12-Aug-16

Data from Dealogic shows that the value of announced mergers and acquisitions deals in Australia in the year-to-date has fallen to an 11-year low of $US36.3bn. However, the Real Flow Predictor report from Intralinks suggests that there will be an upturn in announced M&As in the final quarter of 2016. Karen Evans-Cullen of law firm Clayton Utz is also upbeat about the outlook for M&A activity.

CORPORATES
DEALOGIC (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, INTRALINKS PTY LTD, CLAYTON UTZ, AUSGRID PTY LTD, ASCIANO LIMITED – ASX AIO, BROOKFIELD INFRASTRUCTURE PARTNERS LP, QUBE PROPERTY GROUP PTY LTD, THE GOOD GUYS, NATURE’S CARE, PORT OF MELBOURNE, STATE GRID CORPORATION OF CHINA, CHEUNG KONG INFRASTRUCTURE HOLDINGS LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

That high P/E for a stock may not be that high a P/E after all

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Original article by Philip Baker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 9-Aug-16

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index currently boasts a forward price/earnings ratio of 16 times, while its long-term average is around 14.5 times. In contrast, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 boast forward P/E ratios of about 18 and 20 times. Meanwhile, many individual stocks in the ASX/200 boast P/E ratios of more than 20 times. Clime Investment Management argues that the elevated P/E ratios of some top-20 stocks may not be justified.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, CLIME ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, DOMINO’S PIZZA ENTERPRISES LIMITED – ASX DMP, RAMSAY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX RHC, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, COCHLEAR LIMITED – ASX COH, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, BLOOMBERG LP

Strategists see little to fire the ASX 200 past 5500 by end of year

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Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 11 : 9-Aug-16

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index closed at 5,537.8 points on 8 August 2016, but opinion is divided on the level at which it will be trading by the end of the year. Morgan Stanley still expects the ASX 200 to fall to 4,800 by years’ end, although Citigroup, UBS and Credit Suisse forecast that it will be trading at around 5,500. Meanwhile, Tony Brennan of Citigroup expects it to be trading at 5,750 in mid-2017.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW